Home Opener Game Report - Wolves v. Miami

[Lipoli390]

It was fun to be back in a fairly crowded (near capacity) Target Center for a Wolves game. The atmosphere was great - lots of energy and very positive feeling from the Wolves bench on up through the stands. Actually one of the liveliest crowds I've seen at Target Center. And we were all treated to a fun game with the heroics of Teague and Wiggins ultimately producing a great win. I don't think there were many on this board or anywhere else predicting a 3-0 start for the Timberwolves. But here we are atop the West and undefeated after 3 games.

I loved the energy the Wolves came out with in the first quarter. But the team got sloppy and stale in the second quarter as the Heat adjusted and really focused their defense on stopping Towns. As the 2nd quarter gave way to the 3rd quarter after half time, it looked like the Wolves were headed to their first loss of the season. The moment things turned south for the Wolves was when Ryan, sitting on a 10-point lead in the 2nd, substituted Wiggins for Okogie. Things began to spiral downhill from there before the team pulled it together.

The last half of the 4th quarter was testament to how quickly a player can go from goat to hero in the NBA. Until that time, both Teague and Wiggins were absolutely horrendous. Fans all around me were calling for Ryan to get Teague and Wiggins out of the game. And actually, Ryan did just that and apparently it made a difference. Teague and then Wiggins seemed to flip a switch about half way into the 4th quarter as they starting playing about as well as we've ever seen them play. By the last few minutes of the game, it seemed as if the poor play of Wiggins and Teague, which had been eliciting repeated groans from the crowd, never happened.

You have to credit both players for turning it around. If they hadn't, the Wolves clearly would have lost. And you have to acknowledge an impressive level of mental toughness to play so poorly and then play so well down the stretch. I'll say this about Wiggins. He looks a lot like the player we've seen since he's been here. But there are some differences. Watching him tonight, I'd say he's much more active moving without the ball. I credit Ryan's offense for that, but you also have to give credit to Wiggins. He's also been more clutch than he's ever been before - both tonight and against the Nets. As for Teague, he finally started to look like the player he was before he kept getting hurt last season. I've never been a big Teague fan, but he's been a better player than the guy we've seen last season and this season before the 4th quarter tonight.

In spite of the heroics of Wiggins and Teague, I'd give the game ball tonight to Josh Okogie. He was tremendous on both ends - energy, defense, rebounding and even scoring. His contribution far exceeded his stats and his stats were pretty darn good to begin with. He had a bunch of really clutch rebounds and defensive plays. My honorable mention would go to Napier and Vonleh. I love the way Napier runs the team and he hit some really clutch threes and free throws. Vonleh isn't spectacular, but he plays hard and smart and he really makes a difference defensively. He also hit some big inside shots tonight. Layman was pretty good tonight as well overall, although he has yet to prove that he's a good shooter. I'd say the only player who played poorly overall for the Wolves tonight was Culver. I'll give him this - he's a smart player and has good body control. But his shot is a wreck and the game seems way too fast for him.

Again, a great win tonight against a pretty good team even without Jimmy Butler. I'll add that the team chemistry the players and coaches have been raving about was readily apparent on the bench and on the court tonight. That chemistry was obvious in the player's on-court celebration just after Wiggins hit his 4th consecutive three-pointer in the 4th quarter. The guys were talking to one another on the court and the bench. They were clearly pulling for one another. The assistant coaches were all active and talking with players. The oppressive, negative atmospherics once emanating from the Wolves bench were completely gone. And while I would have been disappointed if we had lost, I would have left the arena feeling good about the experience. If nothing else, at least tonight, watching the Wolves at Target Center was fun again.

[mrhockey89]

My team MVP goes to the Russian gymnast performing at halftime.

Seriously though, Towns started hot then got quiet (relative to what we've grown accustomed to), Wiggins was mostly frustrating but came through huge at the end. Teague, like you said Lip helped stabilize that last push.

I was overall happy with Okogie and Covington. This team needs to hit open 3's more consistently, however I really like that they seem to get their hands on a lot of balls on the defensive end. Our young Wolves team is sitting alone atop the NBA right now at 3-0. Okay, perhaps a bit early to get excited about it, but still a nice sight.

[Coolbreeze44]

Thanks Lip - great job. Regarding Okogie, he had the 2nd worst plus minus on the team tonight. Graham was the only one worse. Wiggins had the best. Plus minus isn't a pure stat, but if it's worth mentioning when it's high, it's also worth talking about when it's low.

Fun game to watch. Looking forward to seeing how we fare against Philly.

[Lipoli390]

My team MVP goes to the Russian gymnast performing at halftime.

Seriously though, Towns started hot then got quiet (relative to what we've grown accustomed to), Wiggins was mostly frustrating but came through huge at the end. Teague, like you said Lip helped stabilize that last push.

I was overall happy with Okogie and Covington. This team needs to hit open 3's more consistently, however I really like that they seem to get their hands on a lot of balls on the defensive end. Our young Wolves team is sitting alone atop the NBA right now at 3-0. Okay, perhaps a bit early to get excited about it, but still a nice sight.

We definitely need to hit more open threes. But at least we're taking a lot more of them. Can't make them if you don't take them. At some point our roster will need to match our style of play. That means having more 3-point shooters on the roster and in the regular rotation. And that's why drafting Culver, worse yet trading up to get him, remains a mystery to me. Cam wanted to stay at 11 and draft Herro. How nice it would be to have him in our rotation. He and Okogie would complemented one another perfectly. But we'll have to see how this thing develops with our current players and who knows what deals might materialize by the February trade deadline.

[Tactical unit]

The culture shift seems real and not just cause they are winning, I fully expect the Wolves to finish 7-10th in the west with a healthy current roster. Back to the culture shift players aren't complaining as much, have more of a shooters mentality even if they ain't hitting. The whole vibe of the team is just simply put better!

I hope we continue to see players playing up to there potential and hopefully development of our internal talent. Those are characteristics of wining franchises and maximize chances of becoming relevant and staying relevant. A ton can happen good health, bad health, trades, plenty of ways this can change in either direction but I like what I see so far.

[Q12543 [enjin:6621299]]

Lip, Thanks for the report and glad you were able to take in an enjoyable win.

I looked at our next three games, @ Philly, @ Washington, and then Milwaukee at home. What, are we in the Eastern Conference now or something?

I expect us to be 3-3 or 3-2 a week from now, but still, that's a lot better than I otherwise would have predicted.

[BizarroJerry [enjin:6592520]]

Nice write up Lip. Let's hope Wiggy keeps it up and Gorgui is kept on the bench.

[crazy-canuck [enjin:18955461]]

Felt bizarre being on the giving end of one of these barrages to close a game.

So, is 4th quarter wiggins going to become a thing?

As much as we all hate that he does less than hes capable of for the 1st 3 quarters, him becoming a guy that can close helps take alot of burden off of kats shoulder.

[Lipoli390]

Thanks Lip - great job. Regarding Okogie, he had the 2nd worst plus minus on the team tonight. Graham was the only one worse. Wiggins had the best. Plus minus isn't a pure stat, but if it's worth mentioning when it's high, it's also worth talking about when it's low.

Fun game to watch. Looking forward to seeing how we fare against Philly.

The plus-minus was meaningless in this game as applied to Okogie. It's a problematic stat generally when applied to any one player in one game. As one of five players, so much of an individual player's plus-minus is determined by the other four and by the timing of their minutes. It becomes more problematic when applied to a player like Okogie last night who played only 19 minutes. Among other things, Okogie spent most of his time on the floor when KAT was out of the game. And he wasn't on the floor when Teague and Wiggins went from terrible to terrific. Just about everyone at the game last night would attest that Okogie's overall play was critical to the win.

[Camden [enjin:6601484]]

Teague wasn't anywhere close to terrible before his eight-point stretch. That narrative has no legs.